Field
The present disclosure relates to systems, devices and methods for the enhanced efficiency of capturing agents of interest from fluid samples. The fluid samples are biological fluid samples in some embodiments, while in other embodiments, non-biological fluid samples are used. For example, in several embodiments, environmental water samples are passed through the devices as disclosed herein in order to assess, for example, mineral content, pollution levels, chemical or toxin content, presence of pathogens, etc.
Description of Related Art
Often it is desirable to extract certain components from a liquid. For example, many medical tests analyze biomarkers in a fluid sample (e.g., blood, urine, etc.) taken from a patient. Diagnosis or prognosis may be derived from identification of a biomarker or a biochemical pattern that is not present in healthy patients or is altered from a previously obtained patient sample.
Frequently, the use of bodily fluids to isolate or detect a biomarker significantly dilutes the biomarker. Moreover, most biomarkers are produced in low or even moderate amounts in tissues and bodily fluids. Diagnosis or prognosis is likely less accurate when the compounds of interest are present at low concentrations.